Roller skates have been in common use in this country and elsewhere for many, many years. Throughout substantially their entire history, however, they have remained virtually unchanged in appearance. This is particularily true of the wheels of roller skates. Typically, the wheels are rotatably mounted on an axle by means of a ball bearing assembly. The axle generally has a threaded end which projects into the external wheel well of the skate wheel, and a nut is threadably engaged on this end to secure the wheel to the axle. The nut and threaded nut of the axle are in plain view in the external wheel well. This exposed wheel well area is somewhat unsightly and has detracted from the appearance of roller skates over these many years that they have been in wide use.